APT Satellite boosts fill rate

Hong Kong-based APT Satellite, reporting its latest results for the year to December 31st, says that its important satellite fill-rate has improved to 75.9 per cent (70.5 per cent in 2016), and spread across 181 operational transponders.

APT operates the APSTAR fleet and is building its latest craft, Apstar-6C, for launch during April by a Chinese Long March-3BE rocket. Apstar-6C will go to 134 degrees East, and replace Apstar-6 around the middle of this year. Later this summer a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch Apstar-5C, which will operate from 138 degrees East.

For the year to December 31st 2017 the operator reports revenues of HK$1.2 billion (about $154.5m) which is down 1.8 per cent on 2016, but profits rose 2.4 per cent to HK621.8 million.